BurmaNet News: August 1 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

August 1 2003 Issue #2297

INSIDE BURMA

DVB: SPDC blames American sanctions for the poor lives of Burmese women
DVB: NLD leader released due to poor health
DVB: National military trainings are forced in Burma
MICB: SPDC authorities ban Muslims’ prayers in Burma
Xinhua: Myanmar faces paper shortage
Irrawaddy: Shortwave radio a lifeline for Burmese

INTERNATIONAL

AFP: Judge rules Unocal can be tried in US for alleged Myanmar rights abuses
Xinhua: Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia pledge to develop “Economic
Cooperation Strategy”

REGIONAL

Xinhua: Myanmar should be given time to resolve domestic problems: FM
AFP: Thailand due to raise its ‘roadmap’ plan with Myanmar
AP: Myanmar has told neighbors Suu Kyi will be released ‘eventually,’
Malaysian minister says
Nation: Japan backs push for road map on Burma
IPS: Caught between poverty in India, oppression at home
Narinjara: Dhaka sends 44-product list to Rangoon

STATEMENTS
Dictator Watch: Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act: Beginning of the end
for the SPDC
Demand General Than Shwe release mandated 60-day review report on the
restriction of Aung San Suu Kyi
Treason allegations against Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and other
NLD leaders

INSIDE BURMA

Democratic Voice of Burma July 31 2003

SPDC blames American sanctions for the poor lives of Burmese women

Military junta in Burma accused US’ new economic sanction has forced more
Burmese women into sex slavery.

“It is an abuse of human rights” ” said the SPDC’s Secretary – 1, General
Khin Nyunt. “Many women were lured with foreign attractions and smuggled
out of the country and sold.”

But Daw Molly, chairwoman of Women Rights and Welfare Association of Burma
(WRWAB) argued that women struggled to get jobs and were sold as
prostitutes since the military junta took over the country in 1988.

Also, she complained the government blamed others for its own fault.


“The reason why the US imposed sanctions on Burma is to pressurise the
regime to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, supporters of democracy, the NLD,
and its supporters from prisons,” said Daw Molly. ‘If those people are
released quickly, these problems will be solved.

But American’s sanction seem to affect local people e.g. workers in
garment factories more than the government.

So far, over 30 garment factories out of 300 around the capital are closed
down. Many believes that all factories will be out of business once the
sanction starts.

One foreign factory owner who did not want to be named said that he wanted
the world to see his crying employees.

But Daw Molly believed that as long as there is no change of the political
system, Burmese women will continue to suffer.

“Our women are scattered throughout the world and suffering because there
is no sufficiency in the kitchen, not because of the economic blockades.
The generals need to see and hear about this.”

_______

Democratic Voice of Burma July 31 2003

NLD leader released due to poor health

Political prisoner U Myat Saing, the chairman of Taungdwinggyi Township
NLD, was released on the 17th July after he had a stroke on his left body
which made him unable to walk.

“He is unable to move his left hand and left foot but he is able to speak
properly,” said U Thaung Sein, the treasurer of Taundwinggyi NLD. “He is
treated by a physiotherapist and he is now able to sit up,”

On 30th April 2000, U Myat Saing and more than 30 NLD members were
arrested for having a dinner party the night before and were sent to
Thayet Prision.

Some of the youth were released nine days after the arrest but 7 NLD
township leaders including U Myat Saing were each sentenced to seven years
in prison.

At the beginning of 2003, six members were released. U Myat Saing was
continued to be detained until July. But his release was not
unconditional.
_______

Democratic Voice of Burma July 31 2003

National military training are forced in Burma

Now all family members of police and fire fighters in Burma are required
to receive military training after the SPDC has decided that Defence
Against Foreign Aggression and Militia Day will be on the 21st July every
year.

In the past, those training were only restricted to citizens outside the
capital.

Fending off foreign invasions with guerrilla warfare was the official
explanation. But many people found that unconvincing.

“We don’t think that anyone would be interested to invade our country from
another country. If they want to take action on Burma, they will use other
methods,” a civilian in Sagaing told DVB.

A political analyst from central Burma also said those training was
actually “unnecessary threat against the people of Burma.”

Despite people’s unwillingness to join the courses, they participated out
of fear. A policeman’s wife in Magwe Division told DVB that she did it in
order to secure her husband’s jobs.

“We are doing what we are doing because we are afraid,” said she.

People with bad health condition are required to show medical proof. Those
without medical certificate would be punished. But the form of punishment
was unclear.

But few people sympathised those who participated. “Departmental civil
servants are their people. They are taking the government’s money. They
have to do what they are told whether they like it or not, I presume,”

Those who were not involved in any training were also forced to support
the government’s decision. In Shan State, the authorities collected money
from local people in a quota system to cover the training courses.
__________

Muslim Information Centre Burma August 1 2003

SPDC authorities ban Muslims’ prayers in Burma

Since July, 14, 2003,  the ruling military junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), authorities banned Muslims’ prayers in
Tanessarim division, according to two merchants, speaking on condition of
anonymity in Mae Sot of Thailand.

The junta’s  Burma Navy officer, Major Soe Aung and village-Peace and
Development  Council authorities of Ye Kan Taung Kyun Zu  , in Mergui
township ordered the Muslim elders of the island-villages not to make Azan
(the calls for prayers) in the mosques, for which  the Muslim community
dare not perform prayers in the mosques, the merchants said.

The Ye Kan Taung (Kyun Zu),  archipelago, consists of twelve villages on
the islands, the merchants said.

Burma Navy officer, Major Soe Aung is commander of the Burma Navy No. 302,
the merchants said.
_______

Xinhua News Agency August 1 2003

Myanmar faces shortage of paper

 Paper factories in Myanmar, including state-owned and private-run, can
produce a total of 56, 200 tons of paper a year at present, accounting
for only 40 percent of the country's annual demand of 135,200 tons for
its over 52 million's population, paper industry sources said Friday.

The country's per capita consumption of paper is 2.6 kilograms annually.

To help fulfill its domestic paper demand, Myanmar has been making efforts
to add more paper plants in the country.  One of the latest goes to a
200-ton-daily-capacity pulp factory being built on a 448.3-hectare plot of
land in Thabaung township in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division since
December 2001.

The Thabaung pulp factory project, the biggest one of the new projects of
the Myanmar Ministry of Industry-1, cost 90 million US dollars provided by
seller's credit of China. So far 72 percent of the construction work has
been finished, according to the ministry.

With the China Metallurgical Construction (Group) Corporation of China
being responsible for the design, supply of machinery equipment and
technical supervision on contract, the Myanmar side is undertaking the
building of the factory and the trial run is expected to be conducted in
July 2004 with production starting November that year, the ministry
disclosed.

There are so far four major state-run paper plants in Myanmar, the largest
one being the Sittoung Paper Plant in Kyaikto, Mon state, and the other
three are Yeni Paper Plant in Yedashe, Bago division, Yankin Paper Plant
in Yangon, and Paleik Newsprint Factory in Mandalay division.

The country has planned to add 14 more paper and pulp factories of 50 to
500 ton daily capacity under a five-year plan from 2001-02 to 2005-06.

Although there are 242 other private-run paper factories registered in
Myanmar, the majority of them are just small-scale industries. The country
has to import paper as the amount of paper produced domestically cannot
meet the local demand.
______

Irrawaddy August 1 2003

Shortwave Radio A Lifeline for Burmese

Large numbers of Burmese hungry for news and entertainment are tuning in
to Rangoon’s City FM and several foreign broadcasts available via
shortwave radio.

Rangoon resident Khin Maung Shwe says he listens to BBC and other
broadcasts every morning. "It is not unusual. People listen to radio for
news because there is a complete blackout here," he said.

Since the May 30 ambush on Aung San Suu Kyi and the subsequent detention
of opposition leaders, many Burmese want to know what’s going on in the
country and the whereabouts of Suu Kyi. "Burmese citizens want to know how
the international community is reacting to Burma," Khin Maung Shwe said.

Stories by overseas Burmese and regional experts on the impact of US
sanctions, Asean’s concern over Suu Kyi and the ongoing debate on
factionalism within the regime draw many grateful listeners.

"We want to know what will happen to us since the US imposed sanctions on
Burma," said Khin Maung Shwe. He witnessed "something unusual" as of late:
regular joggers in the capital bringing along radios during their morning
runs. "I have never seen that before," he said.

Washington-based Voice of America (VOA) begins its broadcast at 6 am,
followed by BBC Burmese Service, Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA)
and the Oslo-based opposition station Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).

Former opposition party member Myo Myint said, "When I stroll down the
street in Rangoon [in the early morning] I can hear news because almost
every house is listening to the BBC or RFA."

However, he said, tea shops in Rangoon usually feature TV and radio
cassette players but do not dare play news aloud, fearing a reaction from
authorities. Listening to shortwave radio is not illegal in Burma but
citizens know that the government does not approve of the activity.

In some provinces, daring tea shop owners do not hide their support of Suu
Kyi and the democracy movement and play the broadcasts at high volume as a
sign of defiance.

In addition to the programs available via shortwave, City FM is hugely
popular among Burmese. The station is managed by Yangon City Development
Committee. Since late 2001, City FM has broadcast live interviews with
Burmese celebrities and played popular music avoided by the state-run
radio stations.

A veteran journalist in Rangoon said, "People are thirsty for
infotainment," adding that many young people regularly tune in to FM
radio.

Though there is no official survey of listenership, it is believed that
millions of Burmese listen to shortwave. As more and more people listen,
radio sales have increased.

Ordinary Burmese cannot afford to buy popular brand names such as Sony or
Aiwa but they do purchase Chinese-made radios like Tecsun and Kchibo,
which range in price range from 10,000 (US $10) to 15,000 kyat. The price
for a digital radio is over 20,000 kyats. "They are affordable for many
Burmese," said Khin Maung Shwe.

In Mae Sot, on the Thai side of the Burmese border, many Burmese listen to
shortwave news broadcasts. Most prefer a particular station. Ko Zarni, an
activist and a former National League for Democracy (NLD) member said, "I
only listen to the BBC." When asked why, he replied, "You don’t get
bored."

 If you think something is up, you must listen to them [foreign
broadcasts] because the government won’t say anything. —a veteran Rangoon
journalist


Back in Rangoon, city dwellers and democracy groups are not unanimous in
their choice of a favorite station.

Ko Maung Maung Htin, who is in his early 30s, says he listens to BBC and RFA.

"I am addicted [to these radio stations]," he said. "I have to listen to
them every night." He also says people have more choices than they used to
and can compare stations to determine which they prefer.

A veteran journalist in Rangoon said he has to listen to all available
stations as part of his job. "I prefer RFA because of its news and
interviews," he said. But many in Rangoon say BBC is more accurate and
professional. "I like BBC and RFA, they are well-informed," he said.
"People are fed up with propaganda, they don’t want to be cheated." The
BBC tops in popularity, followed by RFA, he added.

The editor of a weekly news journal in Rangoon said many listeners are
drawn to the lively discussions, interviews about current events and news
reporting. "If you think something is up, you must listen to them because
the government won’t say anything," he said.

Though not significant in number, some mid-ranking NLD officials, veteran
writers and political observers in Burma are joining the stations’ lively
discussion programs, despite intimidation and threats of possible
detention.

A former broadcaster, who worked for a state-run station in the 1970s,
said it was unlikely that the generals listened to any overseas
broadcasts.

He added that the government’s monitoring service listens to almost
everything, as they also did in the past. During the Gen Ne Win era, the
socialist government monitored BBC, Radio Moscow, All India, Voice of
America and as well as the Burmese Communist Party’s radio station based
along the China-Burma border. Each morning, news sheets were sent to
high-ranking officials, especially those working for military
intelligence.

Such monitoring continues but the current junta is much more sophisticated
than their predecessors.

Thanks to the television and Internet technology, military intelligence
officers and Burma’s policy strategists at the War Office in Rangoon
receive the latest news on Burma and the region on their desk within hours
or minutes.

"They have everything: satellite, cable TV and the Internet," said the
former broadcaster. "They analyze news and come up with new strategies to
counter domestic and international opinion."

Senior government leaders, however, rarely address the public, even on the
state-run television and radio stations. Nor do the generals appear to be
big fans of the foreign-based broadcasts. "They think these radio stations
are biased and only broadcast rumors and fabricated news," he said.

Khin Maung Shwe thinks Burma’s leaders could easily be irritated by
listening to the popular overseas stations. Why? "Because they are telling
you the truth," he said.

INTERNATIONAL

Agence France Presse August 1 2003

Judge rules Unocal can be tried in US for alleged Myanmar rights abuses

US oil giant Unocal must stand trial in California for alleged complicity
in human rights abuses by Myanmar's military junta, including forced
labor, rape and torture, a judge ruled.

"Prior to its involvement in the pipeline project, Unocal had specific
knowledge that the use of forced labour was likely, and nevertheless chose
to proceed," said Los Angeles Superior Court judge Victoria Chaney.

In the decision seen here Thursday, Chaney rejected arguments by the
California-based energy firm, which built a gas pipeline in Myanmar, that
the case should be tried at least in part under Myanmar or Bermuda law.

Unocal had made a bid to have the long-running case shifted to the country
formerly known as Burma as the alleged abuses took place there, or to
Bermuda where a Unocal unit is registered.

But lawyers representing Myanmar villagers allegedly abused by the
isolated Southeast Asian nation's military regime contested the move and
the judge agreed it would be offensive to allow Myanmar law to be applied.

But the judge said foreign laws such as Myanmar's "indeterminate" laws
could not be given precedence if they were morally offensive to public
policy, while Bermuda law was not applicable as the Unocal units cannot
conduct business within the Caribbean island although they are based
there.

Chaney discounted allowing Myamar law to apply, because "even in the
unlikely event that these statutes authorized the violent and oppressive
behavior at issue in this case, this court would refrain from applying
(them) for public policy reasons."

The judge's move cleared the way for plaintiffs in the case -- 14 unnamed
Myanmar nationals represented by US lawyers -- to seek tougher penalties
under California law.

The case centres on the construction of the much-disputed Yadana pipeline,
built by Unocal and partners including France's Total to carry natural gas
from Myanmar to neighbouring Thailand.

A lawyer for Unocal, which strongly rejects the allegations, said the firm
was unhappy with the ruling and was considering whether to appeal it
immediately or wait until after the trial, due to start September 22.

"We disagree with the judge's decision," said Los Angeles-based attorney
Daniel Petrocelli, adding that the villagers were trying to strip Unocal's
Bermuda units of their corporate status to target the parent firm.

"The principal company involved (...) was not even a Unocal subsidiary,
even though the court referred to it as such," he said.

But Rick Herz, litigation director at the advocacy group Earthrights
International in Washington and co-counsel for 11 of the plaintiffs,
welcomed Chaney's ruling.

"This is great. We thought their (Unocal's) arguments that Burma law
applies and that Bermuda law applies were ridiculous and she (Chaney)
agreed with us," he said.

"This is a great victory for the villagers," said another attorney for
them, Dan Stormer in Los Angeles.

"It prevents Unocal from playing a shell game with corporations. It is a
great step towards obtaining justice for these ... villagers."

The villagers are suing Unocal for unspecified damages alleging that the
firm benefited from use by Yangon's military regime of forced labour and
its soldiers' use of murder and rape, even if it did not agree with the
abuses.

In written complaints, they say they were pressed into service in the
1990s to clear a route and build facilities for the pipeline, widely
described as the largest foreign-invested project in Myanmar.

The plaintiffs' identities have been concealed for fear of reprisals by
Myanmar's junta.

Unocal executives have acknowledged that troops did force villagers to
carry ammunition and supplies for the military and to perform other labor
in the vicinity of the project, but deny that any of the labor was linked
to the pipeline's construction.

Unocal owned the pipeline jointly with Total, formerly TotalFinaElf, and
theThai and Myanmar governments. Total is being sued separately in Europe.
________

Xinhua News Agency August 1 2003

Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia pledge to develop "Economic Cooperation
Strategy"

 Foreign ministers from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia met here
Friday, pledging to develop an "Economic Cooperation Strategy" (ECS) to
fully harness the enormous economic potential among the four countries,
despite the possible trade sanctions by the United States.

According to a concept paper on the ECS, endorsed in the meeting, the
objects of the ECS will focus on the four sectors: increasing the
countries' competitiveness, enhancing mutual stability, creating jobs and
reducing income disparities in the region.

The four countries agreed to undertake a series of activities to achieve
these goals. For example, they will relocate enterprises from a country
with higher costs to a lower-cost country in order to boost production
efficiency, while they could connect sister cities along borders and
create special border zones with harmonized regulations as well, the paper
said.

The paper said that the four countries will enhance cooperation in the
fields of trade, agriculture, industry, road transport, tourism and human
resource development.

The paper also outlined a road map to fulfill the strategy, saying a
coordinating mechanism should be set up to enable senior officials to meet
on a regular basis and a regular summit meeting should be arranged.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Thai Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai revealed that the working group meeting of the ESC
would be held on Aug. 25 in Phnom Penh.

He stressed that the four counties would implement effective measures to
achieve the ECS, which was proposed by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra. He added that such cooperation would not only bring about a
win-win situation for all the four countries, but also drive ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) forward toward deeper economic
integration.

He downplayed the worry that the cooperation would be embarrassed if one
of the four countries faced economic sanctions by western countries.

US congress recently passed a new law that will ban all Myanmar-made
products and further sanctions are also expected from the EU and Japan.

"The ECS between the four countries has nothing to do with the sanction
against Myanmar," Sathirathai said.

Citing the tourism cooperation as an example, the minister said the EU and
the United States could ban their citizens from traveling to Myanmar, but
the ECS would promote the package tour including the four countries as
ever, however the tourists have rights to select their destinations.

He also slammed the sanction against Myanmar, saying this action is not a
good means to resolve the problem and would not help Myanmar reach the
national reconciliation and democratization.

"The sanction will only hurt the poors," he said, adding that the sanction
would give rise to problems along the Thai-Myanmar border, as emigrants
and displaced persons from Myanmar were expected to increase after the
United States imposed economic sanction against Myanmar, which will force
over 350,000 Myanmar workers to lose their jobs.

REGIONAL

Xinhua News Agency August 1 2003

Myanmar should be given time to resolve domestic problems: FM

Malaysia feels Myanmar should be given the time needed to solve its
domestic problems to guarantee internal security and political stability
before releasing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Malaysian Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Friday.

Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung had given an assurance to Malaysia that
the government would eventually release Suu Kyi but the authorities needed
some time to ensure Myanmar's internal security and political stability,
Syed Hamid told reporters in Kota Tinggi, south Malaysia.

"At the Asia-Africa Organizations Meeting in Bandung, Indonesia, Win Aung
told me they will eventually free Suu Kyi but they want to be given some
time," Syed said.

"This is because they do not want the security situation and the internal
problems in Myanmar to threaten the political stability of the country,"
he said.

He said Myanmar was also keen to proceed with the reconciliation and
democratic process in the country.

"It is because they asked to be given time, we need to sympathize with
them and give them time," Syed Hamid said, reminding Yangon not to take
too long time.

"To me, they (Myanmar) have asked for time, we should give them time but
it should not be too long because the reconciliation process which has
started will attract public views and criticism when it hits a snag
abruptly," he said.

He said the issue, if not resolved as soon as possible, would not bring
any benefit to Myanmar.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia felt that any form of sanctions on Myanmar would
only cause hardship to the citizens and therefore, " it is not an
appropriate approach."

"What's important now is that Suu Kyi as reported by the Red Cross is
healthy, comfortable and seen to be not under pressure," he said.

Malaysia also wants the role of the UN Special Envoy Razali Ismail in
seeking a peaceful settlement in Myanmar to be continued. he said.

The Myanmar national reconciliation process has been at a deadlock since
May 30, when the government detained the opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi in the name of protecting the National League for Democracy party's
leader.
_________

Agence France Presse August 1 2003

Thailand due to raise its "roadmap" plan with Myanmar

Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and his Myanmar counterpart
Win Aung were due to begin talks Friday on a Thai "roadmap" proposal aimed
at securing the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thailand has proposed the plan to Myanmar as a way of easing intense
international pressure on its military-ruled neighbour to free the
democracy icon, detained after a junta-backed mob attacked a convoy she
was travelling in on May 30.

"This afternoon the Thai and Myanmar ministers will talk for some two
hours about the plan," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told
reporters.

"We are not interfering in their domestic affairs but as a partner in this
region we have to help them in order to strengthen the region and build
its credibility," he added.

Thaksin, who has already offered to act as a mediator between the junta
and international community in solving the crisis, said earlier after
meeting briefly with Win Aung that he was willing to travel to Myanmar to
explain the idea to the country's top generals.

"I told him that if they want me to go to discuss the plan with their
leaders, I am willing to go there so that I can explain the whole matter,
as well as Thailand's good intentions to help Myanmar become acceptable to
the international community," he said.

Thaksin said Win Aung seemed to have a positive attitude towards the plan
but noted the final answer on whether it may be pursued would depend on
the junta's leaders.

Details of the plan have not been released but earlier this week foreign
ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkaew said Thailand would make
suggestions about what could be in the plan and Myanmar could decide what
it would be.

"We are suggesting ideas for the roadmap, but the roadmap itself will be
Myanmar's idea," he said.

Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win said Sunday that the
regime had not received any details of the Thai proposal which was
unveiled last week at a meeting of Asian and European foreign ministers in
Bali.

Foreign pressure on isolated Myanmar grew even stronger this week with the
United States on Monday imposing tough new sanctions, including a ban on
all imports, worth about 356 million dollars annually.

The sanctions legislation also authorises the US president to aid Myanmar
democracy activists, freezes the regime's financial assets in US banks and
property in the United States, and widens a visa ban on Myanmar officials.

Canada and the European Union have also introduced tighter sanctions on
Myanmar since Aung San Suu Kyi was taken into detention, while the
impoverished country's largest donor Japan has suspended new economic aid.

Thaksin said earlier this week that UN special envoy to Myanmar Razali
Ismail also supported the roadmap idea.

The two held weekend talks on the resort island of Langkawi, where Thaksin
also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir has warned that Myanmar could be expelled from the regional ASEAN
grouping as a last resort if it fails to release Aung San Suu Kyi.
________

Associated Press August 1 2003

Myanmar has told neighbors Suu Kyi will be released "eventually,"
Malaysian minister says

Myanmar's military rulers have assured the country's neighbors that
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be released "eventually" - but
not until the junta is satisfied the political situation is stable,
Malaysia's foreign minister said Friday.

Syed Hamid Albar said Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung told him at an
international meeting in Indonesia this week that the junta "will
eventually free Suu Kyi, but they want to be given some time."

"This is because they do not want the security situation and the internal
problems in Myanmar to threaten the political stability of the country,"
Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was detained May 30 amid a clash
between her supporters and a pro-junta mob in northern Myanmar, also known
as Burma.

Officials say Suu Kyi is being held for her protection and have resisted
intense international pressure to free her, or say where she is being
detained.

The crackdown has caused problems for allies of the junta - including
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations - which previously have argued that a non-critical approach
has helped push Myanmar toward democratic reform.

Mahathir said last week ASEAN's other members could agree expel Myanmar,
also known as Burma, as a last resort if Suu Kyi was not released.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The present crop of
ruling generals crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, killing hundreds
of demonstrators.

The junta called elections in 1990 but refused to hand over power when Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy party won. She has been put under
house arrest several times since then.
_______

Nation August 1 2003

Japan backs push for road map on Burma
By Rungrawee C Pinyorat

Japan, Burma's key aid donor, has expressed support for the road map
towards national reconciliation in Burma proposed by Thailand, Foreign
Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said yesterday.

Surakiart said that Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawakuchi was
receptive to Thailand's proposed road map and had recommended that
Surakiart brief the Japanese ambassador to Thailand on the matter.

Japan has suspended all financial assistance to Burma since the ruling
military junta's failure to comply with international requests to release
detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and facilitate a process
of national reconciliation.

Since 1998, Japan has provided assistance to Burma in the form of grants
and technical aid. Japanese aid to Burma in 2001 totalled US$69.9 million
(Bt2.9 billion).

Other countries that have given backing to Thailand's proposal to organise
an international forum to discuss a road map, include Australia, Austria,
China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Jan Kavan, president of the 57th session of the United Nations
General Assembly, said in Thailand yesterday he welcomed the initiative
and thanked the government for not repatriating Burmese dissidents against
their will.

The government has stepped up efforts to regulate the political activities
of Burmese dissidents in the country in the wake of Aung San Suu Kyi's
detention. It is currently preparing to relocate Burmese who have been
under the protection of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) to border camps. The specific location has yet to be announced.
_______



Inter Press Service August 1 2003

Caught between Poverty in India, Oppression at Home
By Ranjit Devraj/New Delhi

Burma Town" at the far western end of India’s sprawling national capital
holds no ethnic exotica beyond a few hundred longyi-clad men and women
huddled into hopelessly cramped, one-room tenements that have sprung up in
the urban village of Budhela.

In the narrow alleys of Budhela, placid buffaloes compete for space with
Burmese children playing with their Indian friends and seemingly oblivious
to the predicament of their parents—torn between oppression in their home
country and the depressing squalor of a New Delhi slum.

Some 800 of the 1,500 odd Burmese who live in Budhela and nearby areas are
lucky to have been accorded "refugee status" and benefit from a US $45
subsistence allowance paid out to the head of each family by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Dependents get another
$15. But since June, the UNHCR has begun implementing a policy of cutting
back on dole-outs to encourage the refugees—especially those who have been
in India for around 10 years—to stand on their own two feet.

Suddenly, even the tenements of Budhela look like luxury. Htin Kyaw, who
was unpleasantly surprised by a 30 percent cut in his allowance and
expects it to cease by June next year, thinks that his family will only
barely survive.

That is because one of his two daughters, 10-year-old Ohmmar Kyaw, has
just won a scholarship at the nearby, privately-owned Oxford Senior
Secondary School.

"The scholarship might have helped my family make both ends meet but I am
now worried by a sudden doubling of the rent (to $45) for this," he says,
gesturing toward his single-room tenement, which has two grass mats on the
floor for furniture.

Htin Kyaw, who comes from a family that once ran a Chinese restaurant in
Rangoon, fled the 1988 military crackdown on pro-democracy activists to a
refugee camp in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, just north of
Burma. He moved to New Delhi in 1994, where he managed to register as a
refugee with the UNHCR.

"It is hard for my family without any real income—the rents are too high,
the summers too hot, the winters too cold and my wife and I have problems
just making ourselves understood," Htin Kyaw said in halting English.

He does not see himself finding a suitable job in this city—and has not
had held one in the last 10 years.

One option for Htin Kyaw is to move back to Mizoram, where the cost of
living is cheaper and the climate similar to Burma’s, as also is the
language, culture and people. But in Mizoram, hostility is building up
against the estimated 50,000 refugees already living close to the border.

Then, there is the question of an education for his daughters, both of
whom enjoy concessions at Oxford Senior. The school was founded by C P
Prabhakar, an educator who was born in Burma but left with 200,000 other
Indians dispossessed by the 1962 "nationalization" of their properties,
businesses and schools.

Many of those early Indian Burmese refugees settled around the bustling
twin commercial centres of Janakpuri and Vikaspuri, of which Budhela is an
extension. They formed the nucleus for "Burma Town" that has since been
attracting a steady trickle of refugees from Burma. The later arrivals are
ethnic Burmese rather than Indian.

Prabhakar, also known by his Burmese name of Maw Thiri, in fact, founded
an organization called Friends of Democracy in Burma to support people
fleeing repression, forced labor and compulsory conscription into the
army.

When Prabhakar died on July 7, aged 70, many of the hundreds of people who
turned up for his funeral were refugees from Burma settled in the
Janakpuri-Vikaspuri area—some ethnically Indian and the others Burmese.

But an event like Prabhakar’s funeral is rare and defines the limits of
integration of Burmese refugees and exiles and the local Indian
population. Even after being in this city for more than a decade, most
Burmese refugees speak little English and even less Hindi—languages
essential for anyone serious about making a living in New Delhi without a
stipend from the UNHCR.

Deprived of funds, Burmese refugees can be seen scrounging around the
Vikaspuri vegetable markets. "We pick out the better leftovers ones to
make a curry," said Salai Mang (name changed on request), who said he
passed high school in Kalemyo town before fleeing to India in 1983.

Disputes are now increasingly common between Burmese refugees and their
Indian landlords, who sense the growing incapacity of their tenants to pay
rent and are less tolerant of what to them are their strange ways.

Yet political activists, students, pastors and volunteers with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who have fallen afoul of the Rangoon
regime keep streaming in. Between May and June 2002, over 500 refugees,
mostly ethnic Chin and Kachin, arrived in New Delhi and applied for
refugee status. The fact that only 20 out of these have been accorded the
coveted refugee status is an indicator of the new tough mood at the UNHCR
office.

"We do not find enough reasons to recognize all the people who come out of
Burma as refugees," said an official.

Some relief has come from the Norwegian Burma Committee, which has been
providing the new refugees monthly rations of rice, pulses and cooking oil
since March. Still, many Burmese find it difficult to cope in an alien
land.

Loom Nan fled across the border into Manipur, another northeastern state,
in May last year when she heard that she was wanted for being a member of
World Concern, an NGO. "I have not since contacted my parents who live in
Kachin State because I fear they would be harassed by the army," she said
dejectedly.

Although Loom Nan has a degree from the Myitkyina College in Kachin State,
she has not been able to find employment in India. "I am learning Hindi
now but the work environment in this city is very competitive and even
Indians have difficulty finding jobs," she said.

About the only visible activity in which Burmese in New Delhi engage in
are the frequent demonstrations outside the Burmese embassy and the UN
offices, and do so at the risk of being arrested or deported.

So far, the Indian government has been lenient toward these protests. On
July 2, a court in eastern Kolkata acquitted Soe Myint, one of the most
vocal dissidents in India, of charges for hijacking a Thai Airways plane
bound for Rangoon from Bangkok to India in February 1991.

Soe Myint thinks that if attitudes at the UNHCR have hardened toward the
Burmese refugees, it is not only because of budgeting problems, but
because the Indian government thinks that allowances encourage more
refugees to pour in over the Burmese border.

"They don’t want to work. They prefer to play cards, drink and chat. They
have a dependency syndrome," said Wei Meng Lim, deputy chief of the UNHCR
mission in India.

She said the UNHCR has tried its best to get the refugees enrolled for
courses in computer technology, electronics and air-conditioning that
might give them the skills to be self-reliant but failed. "India is a big
country and they can always find small jobs if they seriously wanted to,"
she said.

But Soe Myint, who edits the web-based Mizzima News Service, said the
UNHCR fails to understand the real problems of the refugees, many of whom
have been through harrowing experiences such as torture and imprisonment
and have now lost their self-respect. "We are just waiting for conditions
to improve so we can go back home," he said.
________

Narinjara News August 1 2003

Dhaka sends 44-product list to Rangoon

Dhaka, 1st August 03: Dhaka has sent a list of 44 products to Rangoon to
start account trade and is awaiting a response, according to today the
daily star.

Bangladesh Sonali Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank will
sign agreements to facilitate the trade once lists are agreed upon.

The two countries are approaching towards the special trade system because
of Burma’s crisis of foreign exchange, which hinders opening of letters of
credit.

Sonali Bank has taken all preparations to start the account trade system.
The 44 products to be considered under the system will need to have at
least 30 per cent local value addition.

Under the system, importers of the two countries will not need foreign
exchange to import products. The two banks will settle transactions by
netting the import amounts every six months.

However, the amount to be settled by either country will not cross $
100,000 US dollar and the two banks will remit the amounts.

Under the new system, the trade deficit of either country will not cross
two hundred thousands of US dollar.

The products on the Bangladesh list of export to Burma include
pharmaceuticals, ceramics, tableware, tiles, biscuits, chips, juice,
noodles, drinks, tea, condensed, milk, Monopuri handloom products, bed
sheet, bed cover, cosmetics and toiletries, melamine and jewelry.

STATEMENTS

Dictator Watch August 1 2003

THE BURMA FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT: THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE SPDC

(Note: We have posted a photo essay of a Dictator Watch food relief
program for Burmese IDP mothers and their children; three stories from
young Karen war orphans, in their own words, about how the Burma Army
murdered their fathers, and how they have struggled to survive since this
happened; and a remembrance and warning regarding the Preah Vihar incident
in June 1979, when the Thai government refouled some forty-five thousand
Cambodian refugees, thousands of whom subsequently died. If the last
action is repeated with the Burmese refugees in the camps along the
Thai/Burma border, we will work to ensure that the individuals in charge
are held accountable, under the doctrine of "command responsibility," for
crimes against humanity.)


Dictator Watch applauds the United States Government for taking a strong
and decisive step against the Burmese military dictatorship. And, we would
note that it is a "freedom and democracy" act, not a "sanctions" act. This
law is a beginning, not an end unto itself. The law, its underlying
objective, codified most notably in Section 8, providing for assistance to
Burmese democracy activists, and resources for the reconstruction of
Burma, will not be achieved until the SPDC junta is eliminated.

Would that other nations and the United Nations would emulate the United
States. Unfortunately, they are too busy with words, obfuscatory words, as
a cowardly excuse not to act.

Regarding sanctions, we take exception to the comments of the illustrious
academics David Steinberg and Jeffrey Sachs (some people teach, others
do), who denigrate sanctions as being of limited effectiveness. They both
are missing the point. You do not sanction because it will bring about a
desired end, the defeat of a dictatorship. Rather, nations, and
individuals (through personal consumption), sanction because it is the
right thing to do, in and of itself. They recognize that it is unethical
to work with, much less profit from, dictators in any way. You do not work
with murderers. To do so is to condone, even participate, in their crimes.
Everyone who supports the SPDC economically (and also China, and the
companies that destroy nature and mastermind public brainwashing, etc.),
is also to blame, even criminally culpable, for their crimes.

Speaking of words, the grouping Asean, and most notably Mohammed Mahathir,
the Dictator of Malaysia, and even Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the
Parliamentary Dictator of Thailand, have recently said a few strong words
about the SPDC. It is essential that we not be misled by these words. What
is much more important is what Asean is, most certainly, saying to the
SPDC in private:

"Don't worry. We're with you. We have to say something in public, to
mollify the US and to deceive everyone else who cares about Burma. But we
will never DO anything. We will not expel you from our group, or stop our
trade. We don't care about the murder and the repression and the
narcotics. We are guilty of the same crimes as well (albeit on a smaller
scale). We only care about money and power. Our money. Our power. And to
protect it, we will protect you."

We therefore must anticipate their many efforts to slow things down, to
delay further progress, to talk. Thaksin and Foreign Minister Surakiart's
"Road Map" is one such subterfuge. It must be rejected immediately and
comprehensively. Otherwise this charade will cost us months, which we do
not have. Now is the time to exert maximum pressure on Asean, and also
China, India and Bangladesh, to demand that they respond in kind to the
new US law. They must be forced to decide, which side are they on: the
Asian past of corruption and institutionalized atrocity, or the future of
a democratic, egalitarian Asia, of which the people of the continent,
certainly the oppressed lower classes, fervently dream.

Regarding Thaksin, it is worth recalling that many dictators first
obtained power through public elections. (Hitler is just one such
example.) Then, after taking office, they gutted or otherwise took control
of the legislative and judicial branches of government, and the military,
to consolidate their power. Thaksin just turned 54.  Given his public
statements, and the history of other Big Men, one can assume that he will
want to maintain his position for at least the next 20 years, after which
he will likely strive to hand it over to his son.

We would also comment on Thaksin's relationship with Lt. General Khin
Nyunt. The following are suppositions, but if the world of "forms" is
correct, where the same patterns are seen again and again, in one location
after another, they may well be true. Thaksin has a business deal with
Khin Nyunt (for public consumption, the deal is with Khin Nyunt's son),
who is the SPDC Godfather of the Wa drug lords. That makes Khin Nyunt the
biggest drug kingpin in Burma. He is personally responsible for the
narcotics plague in Thailand.

And Thaksin does business with him. How can Thaksin, who launched the Thai
war against drugs, leading to thousands of extrajudicial executions, do
business with the man who is ultimately responsible for the drugs?

Khin Nyunt sells land stolen from villagers at the Thai border to the Wa
(example, Nam Yoom village, Mongton Township); likely taxes the drug trade
in some if not many ways; very possibly is involved in the precursor
chemical trade; and is almost certainly the key architect of the
relocation program - the ethnic cleansing - of the Shan, to make way for
the Wa.

And Thaksin does business with him.

We know there is a deal in telecommunications. Are there any others? Or,
said another way, if there is smoke, is there fire?

Why would the US want to have anything to do with Thaksin? Especially
after he shut down anti-narcotics Task Force 399, which at full capability
would have been a huge impediment to the Wa drug labs and caravans, and
Khin Nyunt. (After September 11, 2001, Thaksin also publicly refused to
commit Thailand to the fight against Osama bin Laden and al-Queda).

At a minimum, this has the appearance of and I'll scratch your back if you
scratch mine deal.

As long as Thaksin continues to be the leading backer of the Burmese
junta, a gang of drug dealing homicidal maniacs, once can only assume the
worst. (The US must oppose all his efforts to perpetuate dictatorship in
Burma, including to repress Burmese democracy activists resident in
Thailand, particularly their deportation to imprisonment and death at the
hands of the SPDC.)

It is up to him to prove that the above suppositions are not true. As a
demonstration of his sincerity and honesty, we call upon him to end all
his ties to the SPDC. Business as usual in Asia, between one type of
dictator and another, is no longer acceptable. Otherwise, the US should
freeze all aid to Thailand, the provision for which has just been inserted
into the 2004 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill by Senator Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky.

Regarding other groups in Thailand, we can comment that the Thai press
refuse to confront Thaksin over his business dealings with the SPDC,
because they are afraid of him. Instead, they censure themselves. And
because of this, he has a free reign to do his worst.

Similarly, many Thai activist groups censure themselves. While a few
organizations, especially in the environmental movement, risk arrest, life
and limb, many others, particularly the political NGOs, resign themselves
to writing press statements and organizing only the most timid of seminars
and demonstrations.

Thailand is definitely underdeveloped, but not only as development is
measured by income and educational levels and life expectancy.
Fundamentally, Thailand is deficient in freedom, and above all else,
equality. These are the pillars on which developed and civilized societies
are built. And without them, no society, including Thailand, will ever be
a success.

In closing, we call on the US to implement Section 8 of the Burma Freedom
and Democracy Act with the greatest vigor and diligence. The SPDC is the
most appalling regime in the world. It is both qualitatively and
quantitatively worse than even North Korea. The generals Than Shwe, Maung
Aye and Khin Nyunt are basically saying:

"We have the right to kill (or rape or otherwise brutalize) anyone we
want. It doesn't even matter if it's an elected head of government and
Nobel Peace Prize winner. We're dictators!"

The rest of the world, but especially the US, UK, EU, Thailand, UN, China,
Japan, Australia, India and the balance of the nations of South and
Southeast Asia, must respond:

"No, you do not have the right, and we will prove it. Power does not imply
or infer right! We will stop you, and we intend to do it now!"

And for those nations that refuse to help, we will never forget whose side
you chose.

_________

Statement of Janelle Saffin July 30 2003

Demand General Than Shwe to release mandated 60 day review report on the
restriction of
Aung San Suu Kyi

Janelle Saffin Convenor of the Burma/Myanmar Sub Committee of the
Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ASICJ)
today called for Burma's military strong man General Than Shwe to publish
the findings from his mandated sixty-day (60) review of the detention of
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ms Saffin said that the Cabinet or the Central Board, and General Than
Shwe heads up the Cabinet, has a legal obligation to conduct a review of
the 'order for restriction, arrest, detention, or denial of rights', at
least every sixty days in keeping with Section 16 (a) of the Act.  It
states that "there will be at least one regular review every sixty days;" 
"It also mandates that the Central Board compile a regular report about
'its activities' every ninety days."

H.E. Mr Razali Ismail one of the three persons known to have been
"allowed" to visit Aung San Suu Kyi since she was ambushed, attacked and
abducted on the 30th May in the Depayin area, reported that she informed
him that she is being detained under the State Protection Act 1975,
specifically Section 10 (a).

"Sections 19 and 20 give a person 'restricted' a right of appeal, but
appeal to General Than Shwe's Cabinet, the same body that made the
restriction order in the first place.  A person restricted could not have
any confidence in such a flawed process, Ms Saffin said."

Ms Saffin stated that she would caution anyone exercising this appeal
right to be mindful of Section 22 that states that, "Any person against
whom action is taken, who opposes, resists or disobeys any order passed
under this Law shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of up to five
years, or a fine of up to five thousand kyats, or to both."

"It beggars belief that the SPDC would invoke Section 22 against a person
restricted exercising their appeal right, but such is the parlous state of
the legal and judicial system in Burma, and particularly with politically
motivated matters like that of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and other
National League for Democracy (NLD) members, that I issue this caution. 
Legal principle is picked up and abandoned on whimsy."

"The Act itself violates what is considered to be good law, in that it is
vague about what actions constitute an act that a person can be detained
for and an act does not have to be actual, just apprehended on the part of
the military junta or government."

"It also lacks judicial review. This was in the original act and was
removed in 1991 when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was restricted to her house
under the same Act but a different sub-section of it."

"I am sending out a clarion call to Jurists in the Asia Pacific Region to
join in seeking to have the rule of law upheld in Burma, therefore seeking
the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U,
and others, and repeal the State Protection Act 1975 in its current form,
as it only serves to quell peaceful political activity," concluded Ms
Saffin.
____________

Statement of Janelle Saffin July 30 2003

Treason Allegations Against Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and other
NLD Leaders

Janelle Saffin Convenor of the Burma/Myanmar Sub Committee of the
Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ASICJ)
today challenged military strong man Gen Than Shwe to deny the allegation
that he is planning to charge Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi with
'treason'.

The streets of Rangoon are alive with this coming from trusted sources
close to the military junta's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
and the usual tactic of trying to force people to sign declarations that
Aung San Suu Kyi and others were involved in "acts" that are offences
against the state, and General Than Shwe's mission to convince neighbours
that the events of the 30th May were caused by her," said Ms Saffin. "The
idea is preposterous, there is no evidence, and no one believes him."

"The problem is that in military ruled Burma, the state is the Tatmadaw
cum SPDC, which is General Than Shwe; there is no separation in practice
or thinking, so any perceived threat to General Than Shwe is taken to be
an "act" against the state."

"To charge Aung San Suu Kyi with treason or a similar charge is so
unthinkable that it can't be true; surely even General Than Shwe could not
do this to the daughter of Burma's hero Bogyoke Aung San.  He, Aung San,
would turn in his grave to think that his beloved Tatmadaw (Army) could do
this to his only daughter."

Ms Saffin stated that, "If General Than Shwe does this he alone will be
responsible for leading his country to destruction.  Those who serve him
loyally as good military men and civil servants do will be led down this
path with him.  What is needed now is for those with cooler heads to use
all persuasion to ensure that this does not happen."

"Aung San Suu Kyi is mentally prepared for any action no matter how
draconian, but is the country prepared for draconian action against them
if she and other leaders are charged with treason or similar."

The offence of treason is found in Burma's Penal Code, Sections 121-124,
and the penalty is death or transportation.  State sanctioned death has
not been carried out for some time in Burma, and where it has been imposed
as a sentence it has been commuted to lengthy prison terms. 
Transportation is a hangover from the colonial days which the Acts in
Burma's thirteen volume codes are based on, but the fact is it is still on
the books.

"It is clear that General Than Shwe would love to see the last of Aung San
Suu Kyi but to forcibly remove her from the people by incarcerating her
for a long time or even thinking of removing her from her country would
bring internal outcry and international condemnation and the intervention
he so fears."

Ms Saffin continued, "That in informing a key regional and international
political actor of this 'allegation' he responded with incredulity and the
assurance that if this course of action was pursued by General Than Shwe
that is charging Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and others that the only option
left was to unseat General Than Shwe's State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) at the United Nations General Assembly.

"No body wants this and it is up to General Than Shwe to ensure that this
does not happen.  He can exercise good sense and become part of the
solution as have others before him notably leaders from South Africa,
Indonesia, Thailand and others, by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin U and
others and committing to dialogue and a peaceful transition," concluded Ms
Saffin.